How to explain callbacks in plain english? How are they different from calling one function from another function?

Question

How to explain callbacks in plain English? How are they different from calling one function from another function taking some context from the calling function? How can thei

Answer 1

Without callback neither others special programming resources (like threading, and others), a program is exactly a sequence of instructions which are executed sequentially one after the other, and even with a kind of "dynamic behavior" determined by certain conditions, all possible scenarios shall be previously programmed.

So, If we need to provide a real dynamic behavior to a program we can use callback. With callback you can instructs by parameters, a program to call an another program providing some previously defined parameters and can expects some results (this is the contract or operation signature), so these results can be produced/processed by third-party program which wasn't previously known.

This technique is the foundation of polymorphism applied to programs, functions, objects and all others unities of code ran by computers.

The human world used as example to callback is nice explained when you are doing some job, lets suppose you are a painter (here you are the main program, that paints) and call your client sometimes to ask him to approve the result of your job, so, he decides if the picture is good (your client is the third-party program).

In the above example you are a painter and "delegate" to others the job to approve the result, the picture is the parameter, and each new client (the called-back "function") changes the result of your work deciding what he wants about the picture (the decision made by the clients are the returned result from the "callback function").

I hope this explanation can be useful.